Tag: Castle

Property News All The Latest Updates

Hi guys welcome to our fortnightly property news blog, as usual we will be taking a look at the latest domestic news and will be taking a look back at last week’s budget to taking a tour of a fairy tale castle in Greater Manchester – can you guess the property’s price tag? If you missed our previous property news round-up catch up here.

Budget 2016: What It Means For The Property Industry

Last week George Osborne made a number of announcements in his 2016 Budget that will affect the property industry here in the UK.

The chancellor, (as quite a few were expecting) did not take a u-turn with regards to the additional stamp duty rate. So what does this mean exactly? In a nutshell, it means an extra 3% levy on top of normal stamp duty rates if you buy multiple properties.

In addition, he also scrapped the “slab” system for tax rates on commercial property purchases. According to the IBT, the reform now works like income tax, with the rate only applied to the portion of the property price that falls into its bracket. He also raised rates in the top price brackets and cut them at the lower end. Moreover, only 9% of commercial property purchasers will pay more.

Mr. Osborne also cut Capital Gains Tax (CGT) rates. On the day it was announced that the higher rate will reduce from 28% to 20% and the basic rate from 18% to 10%. If you’re thinking there has to be a catch there, you’ve hit the nail on the head. The catch is the former rates will still apply for sales of residential property. It’s worth noting that Capital Gains Tax is not applied to profit made on your own home. However, if you own any additional properties then CGT does apply to you. This is bad news if you are a landlord as you will be penalised if you decide to sell. This doesn’t apply to all types of property investors. For example, people who have invested via funds will benefit from lower CGT rates on the profits they make.

On the day it was also revealed that property developers must pay tax on their profits. In addition, the HM Revenue and Customs will bring together a task force for targeting offshore developers in the UK. It has been reported so far that the tax office has identified 100 “high risk” developments.

The government stated in the budget that it will work closely with local councils to identify where they can be given more “planning freedoms” to ensure thousands of new homes are built. Additional financial support will be given to councils that plan to build houses on the outskirts of towns and cities (aka garden villages) which consist of 1,500 to 10,000 homes.

Lastly, it was announced that money will be going to the homeless. Osbourne’s budget said that £115m being put towards helping rough sleepers. The majority of the homeless spending will go towards low-cost ‘second stage’ accommodation. However, while many homelessness charities welcomed the government funding, they stressed that the problems run far deeper than a shortage of money.

What are your thoughts on the budget? What other changes would have you liked to have seen Mr. Osborne include on the day?

Northern Cities Are Among The Best Places To Invest In Property

Northern cities are the hottest up-and-coming areas for UK property investors, according to data released today on affordable homes. (City AM, March 2016)

Research from Which? shows that where property prices are surging, thaey also have an average house price below £200,000.

Liverpool’s city centre takes the top spot for when it comes to affordability. Land Registry data indicates that the average home in the L1 postcode still costs just £120,000 despite house prices increasing 41 per cent over the past year.

Other areas that have seen strong price rises but remain affordable include Bradford’s BD1 postcode which is east of the city’s university.

Manchester’s M12 postcode came fifth on the affordable list with an average house price of £98,000, the area is cheaper than Liverpool’s central district, however prices rises from this postcode have not been as dramatic, rising at 32 per cent.

Property Prices In Manchester Increased Over 30% In 2015

Staying in the north and looking at property prices a little bit more closer to home (part two of the above if you like), Salford’s M5 postcode recorded the region’s highest rises, with the average value of £127,890 representing growth of 34% in just 12 months.

As Select Property Groupmention in one of their recent articles, 2015 was a year in which Manchester firmly established itself as a property investment hotspot. It was named by HSBC as the UK’s number one city for yields, with rental rates being driven by one of the lowest levels of housing supply and a population growing at three times the national average.

Investors have started to whet their appetite when it comes to investing in Manchester due to the fact it has one of the country’s youngest populations, with 60% more 25 to 29-year-olds living in the city. The millennial generation (aka Generation Y) are known for renting and with a vast amount of graduates and others relocating for jobs, Manchester is currently a prime place for property investors.

London Property Prices Rose Almost £500 A Day In January

Moving from the north to travelling ‘down sarf’- London house prices increased by almost £500 a day in January, according to government figures that provide fresh evidence of a “two-speed” property market. (Guardian, March 2016).

Data from the ONS (office for National Statistics) indicates that London and the South East are still dominating and continue to power ahead with double-digit annual growth rates. In contrast, in other regions of the UK such as in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland figures appear to have stuttered to a halt.

According to the ONS, The average London house price hit a record £551,000. This was £15,000 up on December’s figure of £536,000 and an increase of £484 a day.

Dragonfly Property Finance’s managing director Mark Posniak told The Guardian : “This latest annual house price data once again throws into sharp relief the contrast between the housing markets of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. They may be geographical neighbours but they could be thousands of miles apart in terms of house prices.”

Fairy Tale ‘Castle’ In Greater Manchester – Can You Guess Its Price Tag?

Want to become lord or lady of the manor? Here’s your chance (if you’ve got a LOT of spare cash lying around that is!) Wharmton Tower, in Grasscroft (Oldham) has eleven bedrooms, a separate coach house and even a stone-built summer house – and is just a short drive from Manchester!

Grasscoft has some well-known residents such as Paul Scholes and Dr. Brian Cox and is ideal for those who love to live in a relaxed and quiet surrounding. BUT to live this life of luxury how much will it cost you?

What Are Your Thoughts?

Which of our chosen property stories has interested you the most? We would love to hear from you, feel free to leave us a comment on our Facebook and Google Plus pages. If you prefer to tweet us, tweet @TheHouseCrowd.

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